US Surgeon General Releases Report on Addiction

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and nonprofit organization Facing Addiction held an event in Los Angeles, California to announce the release of the first Surgeon General’s first-ever report on addiction.

The report is an over four-hundred-page document titled “Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health” that states that “an American dies every nineteen minutes from a heroin or opioid overdose,” among other things (Burch, 2016). It addresses topics like the science of addiction, neurobiology, addiction myths, Twelve Step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, the legalization of marijuana, and “economic reasons to support recovery programs” (Burch, 2016).

Surgeon General Murthy told USA Today, “At a time when we are resource-constrained already, we cannot afford, for humanitarian reasons or financial reasons, to not address addiction in America” (Burch, 2016). Additionally, Surgeon General Murthy addressed the issue of stigma related to addiction: “For far too long, too many in our country have viewed addiction as a moral failing. This unfortunate stigma has created an added burden of shame that has made people with substance use disorders less likely to come forward and seek help” (Burch, 2016).

The report can be viewed by clicking here.

Burch, K. (2016). Surgeon General releases first-ever report on drugs, addiction. Retrieved from https://www.thefix.com/surgeon-general-releases-first-ever-report-drugs-addiction